Antonelli joins an exclusive club of drivers who’ve secured their first three poles at successive races, Alpine reach Q3 with both cars for the first time in almost two years and Colapinto records a career-best qualifying result. Here are the facts and statistics from qualifying at the 2026 Miami Grand Prix!
ANTONELLI ON POLE AT THE 2026 MIAMI GRAND PRIX
Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for the third race weekend in a row at the 2026 Miami Grand Prix.
Antonelli joins the likes of Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher by taking all of his first three pole positions at consecutive races.
Antonelli is the fourth different driver to secure a Grand Prix pole position at Miami International Autodrome, while Mercedes become the third team – after Ferrari and Red Bull – to take pole position at the Miami Grand Prix.
The 2026 Miami Grand Prix is the 32nd consecutive race at which a Mercedes-powered car has appeared on the front row. It equals the manufacturer’s previous longest streak, from the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix to the 2015 Italian Grand Prix.
IN THE TOP TEN
For the first time since 2022, a Red Bull driver did not qualify on pole position at the Miami Grand Prix. Max Verstappen qualified second, making 2026 the fourth year in a row that a Red Bull driver has qualified on the front row at the event.
This was Verstappen’s first front row qualification since the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It was the first time he qualified in the top seven this season.
Charles Leclerc qualified third for the 2026 Miami Grand Prix and with Lewis Hamilton sixth, this was only the second time – after 2022 and 2024 – that both Ferrari drivers qualified in the top six in Miami.
This was the first time Leclerc qualified in a position other than fourth for a Grand Prix in 2026. It was his best qualifying result since the 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
With both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri reaching Q3, McLaren saw both of their drivers qualify in the top ten for the 32nd race in a row. It is now the second-longest double Q3 appearance streak in Formula 1, bettered only by Mercedes’ streak of 72 double Q3 appearances between the 2018 Hungarian Grand Prix and the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Piastri’s seventh place was the worst qualifying result for a McLaren driver in Miami since both drivers were out in Q1 in 2023. Piastri remains yet to qualify in the top three at the Miami Grand Prix.
Norris continues his record of out-qualifying his team-mate at every Miami Grand Prix weekend to date. It was the first time this year that he has out-qualified Piastri.
Fourth place is Norris’ best qualifying result of the season to date.
George Russell qualified fifth at the Miami Grand Prix for the second year in a row. It is the first time he did not qualify on the front row in 2026.
Both Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar reached Q3 at the 2026 Miami Grand Prix, meaning Red Bull maintained their record of being the only team to see both cars progress to Q3 in every race weekend to date at Miami International Autodrome.
For the first time since the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix, both Alpine drivers reached Q3 at the 2026 Miami Grand Prix. It was the team’s first double Q3 appearance in Miami since 2023.
This was Pierre Gasly’s first Q3 appearance at the Miami Grand Prix since 2023.
Franco Colapinto reached Q3 for the first time since the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. This was the second Q3 appearance of his career.
Colapinto qualified eighth – the best qualifying result of his career to date, bettering his ninth place at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
This was the first time since the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix that Colapinto out-qualified Gasly.
ELIMINATED IN Q2
Nico Hulkenberg qualified 11th for the 2026 Miami Grand Prix. It is the seventh time in the last 11 race weekends that he has qualified 11th.
For the first time in 2026, both Williams drivers progressed to Q2 at the Miami Grand Prix. This was only the second time, after 2025, that neither Williams driver was eliminated in Q1 in Miami.
Carlos Sainz failed to reach Q3 – or qualify in the top six – at the Miami Grand Prix for the first time. It leaves Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc as the only drivers who’ve reached Q3 at every Miami race to date.
With both Williams drivers out in Q2, 2025 remains the only time that Williams have reached Q3 in Miami.
Both Haas drivers were out in Q2 at the Miami Grand Prix. From the four race weekends so far in 2026, Ollie Bearman’s Q3 appearance in China and his Q1 exit in Japan are the only times a Haas driver has not recorded a Q1 elimination.
This was the first time since 2022 that neither Haas driver progressed to Q3 at the Miami Grand Prix.
OUT IN Q1
Aston Martin and Cadillac continued their record of seeing both cars out in Q1 at every Grand Prix to date in 2026.
Lance Stroll became the first driver to record as many as three Q1 eliminations at Miami International Autodrome.
This was the second year in a row that both Aston Martin drivers were out in Q1 at the Miami Grand Prix.
Of his four appearances at Miami International Autodrome, this was the first time Sergio Perez failed to reach Q3.
This is the first time in his career that Perez has recorded as many as four successive Q1 eliminations.
Valtteri Bottas qualified 20th for the third race weekend in a row.
On his fourth qualifying appearance, Arvid Lindblad recorded his first-ever Q1 exit at the 2026 Miami Grand Prix.
This was the first Q1 exit for a Racing Bulls driver since the 2025 United States Grand Prix. It was the team’s longest streak without any Q1 eliminations since the end of the 2021 season.
Having spent most of the session in the garage, Gabriel Bortoleto qualified 22nd for the 2026 Miami Grand Prix. This was his first Q1 exit since the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix.